Lagunitas: Cali craft beer sets up shop in Chicago

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A craft beer created in California will now also be brewed on Chicago’s West Side.

Tony Magee is the Chicago native behind the Lagunitas Brewing Company, a craft beer born in California which has expanded and set up shop now in the Douglas Park neighborhood.

Lagunitas is a top selling craft brews. In Chicago it’s made its home inside the old Ryerson Steel Complex – 300,000 square feet – including a 4,000 square foot tasting room and restaurant.

When the build out is complete the place will have two brew houses, 120 fermenters and 1.5 million barrels of beer a year. It will be one of the largest craft breweries in the U.S.

The company’s top two beers are now rolling off the lines in Chicago. Down the road, a new local flavor may be developed but right now the company is simply trying to keep up with the ever increasing demand for more flavorful beers.